What does the South Beach Diet Menu Look Like?

One of biggest draw-backs to many diets is the "forbidden" foods list. It is human nature to desire the things we know we can't have, and this seems to magnify when you're on a diet. Dieting is difficult enough without the disappointment of having to eat foods you don't like.

You will be pleased to learn that this is something that cannot be said about the South Beach Diet. If the question of what you can eat on this diet arises, it would be far quicker to tell you what you cannot eat!

There is no "forbidden fruit" on the South Beach Diet. This program simply teaches you how to enjoy the foods you love in a healthier way. For example, if you are a meat lover, the South Beach Diet doesn't say, "You can never eat red meat again!" Rather, the South Beach Diet teaches you how to eat red meat sensibly, by choosing smaller, leaner cuts.

Examine Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, as this is the most restrictive - and usually the most difficult - part of the diet. You will be surprised to see that many foods you would not expect to eat - the ones other diets make you eliminate - are actually a part of the Phase 1 menu.

Low in fat or fat free cheese along with beef, pork, eggs, low fat lunch meat and poultry are all allowed so long as you avoid greasy or fatty portions. For all you seafood lovers, you will be delighted to discover that products from the sea are allowed and even encouraged throughout all phases of the South Beach Diet. If you have a sweet tooth, that's no problem, but you must keep your sweet allowance to 75 calories each day. Phase 1 is the strictest part of the diet but you still have the choice to include your favorite foods so you can see that this diet will be easy to stick to.

One of the reasons the South Beach Diet is so successful, is that you learn how to adapt your own recipes to make them healthier. Phase 1 restricts you to using only canola oil or olive oil, but you will find this actually enhances the taste of your food. You are also advised to use low-fat dairy products during Phase 1, but this is only for two weeks. From that point on, preparing home-cooked meals is a breeze.

Fruits, normal dairy products and grains are re-introduced to your choice of foods during Phase 2 of the diet but you will find your cravings for these are not nearly as strong as previously. By eating food which your body can break down easily your weight will continue to drop, until you have reached your goal.

Although the South Beach Diet menu does ask you to make adjustment to the food you eat, you will be pleased with the types of food you can still enjoy. By following the South Beach Diet, you will learn how to eat everything in a healthier manner, and this will lead to healthy and permanent weight loss.